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Oil Earnings Likely to Slip as Prices Fall

By

Mark Gongloff

Updated Oct. 28, 2008 12:01 a.m. ET

The global economic slowdown threatens to turn Big Oil from victor to victim.

The major integrated oil companies report third-quarter earnings this week, with BP on Tuesday, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Thursday and Chevron Friday. Together, they are expected to report more than $35 billion in net income for the period, during which New York Mercantile Exchange crude-oil prices sank 28%. Exxon alone is expected to report another record profit of more than $12 billion.